By Caribbean News Global
JAMAICA / HAITI – Gangs’ offensive and the related security response drive an uptick of violence in the Centre department of Haiti, and in Jamaica, police intensify anti-gang actions amid concerns over police abuses.
Haiti
Violence intensified in the Centre department after Viv Ansanm-affiliated gangs 400 Mawozo and Canaan launched an offensive on 31 March in Mirebalais and Saut-d’Eau, in an effort to consolidate control over the border with the Dominican Republic.
Gangs attacked civilians and key infrastructure, including the prosecutor’s office, a local radio station, and two police stations, forcing around 6,000 people to flee the area. The move also highlights the ability of Port-au-Prince-based gangs to launch attacks beyond the capital, raising concerns that they could target key assets such as the hydroelectric Péligre Dam, which is located 15 kilometers away from Mirebalais and generates electricity for much of the country.
The incursion triggered intense clashes with police and self-defense groups, leaving over 70 fatalities, mostly among gang members, in April. This marks the deadliest year on record in the Centre department since ACLED started recording violent events in Haiti in 2018.
Clashes between gangs and security forces also continued in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, where police and military forces, supported by self-defense groups, claimed to have killed at least 70 gang members in attacks on Viv Ansanm positions in Kenscoff, Port-au-Prince, and Gressier communes. Acknowledging the growing threat that gangs represent for Haiti’s stability, the United States announced the designation of the Viv Ansanm and the Gran Grif gangs as terrorist organizations on 2 May.
The designation seeks to hamstring financial and weapons supplies underpinning gang activities, and thus support the security response. However, the gangs’ control over the Haitian economy means that all financial transactions to Haiti could be at risk, compounding the country’s economic and humanitarian crises.
Jamiaica
Police forces clashed at least 15 times with armed groups in April, doubling the events of the previous month. Most occurred in the greater Kingston area in Saint Andrew and Kingston parishes. These clashes led to the reported deaths of at least 18 people. Among those killed were at least three gang leaders, including Shacqol Pounal, leader of the 7’s gang, who was killed on 16 April. The day after Pounal was killed, another gang member was shot dead by security officers amid an alert issued by the Jamaica Constabulary Force regarding threats of retaliatory actions by the 7’s gang.
According to Minister of National Security Horace Chang, security forces have intensified their efforts to fight gangs in 2025 through operations and investigations that have impacted 63 criminal groups. This has contributed to reducing homicides in the first quarter of the year to the lowest levels in over two decades. In the first four months of 2025, ACLED records a 48 percent decrease in violence targeting civilians at the hands of armed groups in Jamaica, compared to the same period in 2024.
At the same time, the number of clashes involving security forces and their deadliness are the highest since 2018. This is prompting public backlash: on 29 April, the social movement Jamaicans for Justice marched in Kingston to denounce the rise in police abuses and demand greater accountability.
Source: Acled
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